ArtZ Rib House Benefit, Sunday, February 22 at Scholz Garten

Volume 31, No. 2
Copyright ©Central Texas Bluegrass Association
February, 2009
ArtZ Rib House Benefit, Sunday,
February 22 at Scholz Garten
ArtZ Rib House, located at 2330 South Lamar in Austin, is bluegrass headquarters for Central
Texans, and it’s about as close as we can come to an official headquarters for the CTBA, too.
The official Sunday afternoon jam has been held here for the last 14 years. It was moved here in
April, 1995, from the previous location at Ruby’s Barbecue. The annual July band scramble
fundraiser started the same year and has been held every year since, (continued on next page)
I believe, although in recent years we’ve discontinued the garage sale part. ArtZ Rib House is
also where the first Saturday of each month showcases CTBA member bands, and it’s where
we have the CTBA board meetings.
ArtZ Rib House is owned by Art Blondin and Zenobia Sutton. Art (one of the ―fine arts‖ in the
Austin music scene) is a musician himself — he has played bass for Jon Emery for many years.
And have you ever wondered why the restaurant’s name is spelled (continued on next page)
The Central Texas Bluegrass Bulletin is published by the Central Texas Bluegrass Association, a 501(c)(3) taxexempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. Work
published in this Bulletin is used by permission of the writers, artists, and photographers, who retain all copyrights.
John Hood, President
Mike Montgomery, Vice-President
Roy Glover, board member
Russell Gunn, board member
Ken Brown, Bulletin editor
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Central Texas Bluegrass Association
Box 9816
Austin, Texas 78766-9816
(512) 261-9440
with a capital (not lower-case) ―Z‖ on the end? The ―Z‖ in ArtZ is Zenobia, who’s usually
known to staff and customers just as ―Z.‖ ArtZ Rib House has been here 17 years, and they’ve
got the culinary awards on the wall to prove it. There is no better friend to bluegrass anywhere
here in Texas. The Rib House has live music six days a week, and when bands play here, they
get paid, yet there’s never a cover charge. Where else can you find a deal like that? Art frequently hires bluegrass bands, like the Sieker Band, the Grazmatics, Ranch Road 12, the
Ledbetters, TVA, and the Gray Sky Boys — and some of these bands have had residencies
there. In past years, they’ve even hired the occasional touring bluegrass band from out of state.
In fact, ArtZ Rib House is the only place in Austin that consistently hosts bluegrass music. As if
that weren’t enough, it’s also a business member of CTBA and a sponsor of the Strictly Bluegrass radio show on KOOP (91.7 FM, Sunday mornings, 10AM to noon).
But the Rib House has fallen on hard times. Z has been hospitalized (at Brackenridge Hospital,
in Intensive Care), and the business has been burdened with a heavy debt as the local economy
has started to slow. Jammers arriving on Sunday, the 25th, found the place closed. Fortunately,
it reopened the next evening for an impromptu fundraiser, and the place was packed to the rafters. A string of tag-team musicians played short sets, a donation can made the rounds, and the
bar and kitchen kept constantly busy. The bar area was standing room only, and very little of
that. Those of us getting there a little late had to park half a block away, and sit outside. I saw
some people there I hadn’t seen in years. Art and Z have lots of friends, and they are generous
ones. A significant sum of money was raised, but more is needed.
A more formal benefit is planned for Sunday, February 22, at Scholz Garten (1607 San Jacinto,
south of the UT campus), from noon until dark, with live music and a silent auction. As this
newsletter goes to press, performers haven’t been announced yet — I suspect there’ll be more
performers wanting to participate than can be accommodated in a few hours of music. To stay
current on plans for the benefit, I recommend checking the Scholz Garten web site at:
www.scholzgarten.net/calendar_february_2009.html
Alternatively, if you want to make a donation by mail, you can send it to:
Art Blondin
c/o Rene Britt
Box 91092
Austin, Texas 78709
So, what can we all do to help Art and Z? After all, bluegrass has no better friends in Central
Texas than these two. Here’s what I suggest: attend the February 22 benefit if you can, send a
donation if you can’t, but above all, get yourself something to eat when you come to the Sunday
jam; and stop by during the week if you get a chance — I do it myself. There’s a reason for all
those awards on the wall! And send your goodwill to Art and Z in a card or letter.
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Claire Lynch-Jim Hurst at Stubbs Barbecue
I always wanted to start a bluegrass band called ―Lunch Break.‖ I reasoned that we’d be booked
at every single bluegrass festival in the entire country, and then we could just take our pick of
bookings. Merlefest? Sure, we’re booked there! Telluride? Hey, we’re booked there, too! Look,
it says so right here on the schedule! But then it dawned on me that when we walked out on
stage, there wouldn’t be anybody there to hear us. We’d be facing an aluminum ocean of empty
lawn chairs. Our CD sales would plummet. So I scrapped the idea.
Anyway, that’s probably about how Claire Lynch and Jim Hurst felt Thursday night (January
22) at Stubbs. Claire (Rounder recording artist, former IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year,
twice nominated for a Grammy) and Jim (two-time IBMA Guitarist of the Year) played for ten
people in the basement auditorium at Stubbs. Well, the crowd peaked at ten. At first there were
just four of us. The only CTBA members I saw were Earl Hunt and Susan Spruance (there
could have been some that I don’t know).
A pensive-looking Claire Lynch and her Gallagher guitar at Stubbs Barbecue. Photo by K. Brown.
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It was a grand show, a house concert, really. We brought chairs down from upstairs and put
them about two feet away from the stage and kept up a running dialogue with the two of them
the whole time they played. They’re touring as a duo right now, without the rest of the Claire
Lynch Band, and were headed for The Woodlands and then Dallas after their Austin show. After that, they’ll be in Nashville recording a new Claire Lynch CD.
So we sat there, inspired by the music being traded back and forth between them, and, we must
confess, trading a few jokes ourselves with them. If you’ve heard these two before, you know
Claire is a superb singer, an accomplished songwriter (check out the songwriting section on her
web site) who teaches the craft at places like NashCamp and RockyGrass, and an accomplished
human being. Jim is, of course, the Godzilla of the fingerstyle dreadnaught guitar, a sort of
Kentucky Django. For almost two hours, they did songs from most of Claire’s recordings (and
she has eight of them, I believe), songs like Moonlighter, Wednesday’s Child, We Should Only
Have Time for Love, and He Don’t Like to Talk About It. And she did my request, Kennesaw
Line. I wish I’d also asked her to do Out Among the Stars.
Jim did several solo instrumentals or vocal numbers, like Guidology and Suzy Q. He’ll sing lyrics or scat, and then find the unison notes on the guitar fingerboard (how does he do that? I’m
lucky to just find the fingerboard). Jim’s used to this kind of duo touring, having done plenty of
it with Missy Raines (and wasn’t that something? I saw them at IBMA one year). They did
some songs from the upcoming CD, and ones I wasn’t familiar with, like Fields of Carolina. It
was, as they say, ―all good.‖
Nobody talking during the show, no cell phones
going off, no blender, and the sound engineering
was really good, not that we needed it, since we
were within shoelace-jerking distance of the
band. Best of all, we got to talk to the two of
them as much as we wanted, before and after,
and during the break.
Take a look at Claire and Jim’s web sites:
www.clairelynch.com/
www.jimhurst.com/
Check out Claire’s latest, “Crowd Favorites,” (a compilation CD with some new tracks)
and Jim’s latest, “A Box of Chocolates.”
Jim in a blaze of guitar glory. Photo-Chop? No,
just bad photography, really. Photo by K. Brown.
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6
Events calendar: February, 2009
February 1, Sunday, 11 AM: Bluegrass Brunch with the Sieker Band at Threadgill’s North, 6416 North
Lamar, Austin; 451-5440
February 8, Sunday, 11 AM: Bluegrass Brunch with Blacktop Bend at Threadgill’s North, 6416 North
Lamar, Austin; 451-5440
February 13, Friday, 6-9 PM: Piney Grove Ramblers at Iguana Grill, 2900 RRR 620N, Austin;
www.iguanagrillaustin.com; 266-8439
February 14, Saturday, 10-11:30 AM: Grass Onions at Austin Farmers’ Market, 4th and Guadalupe,
Austin
February 15, Sunday, noon-10 PM: AFTM Mid-Winter Fest at Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton
Springs Road, Austin; adults, 50 cents; children, 10 cents
February 15, Sunday, 11 AM: Bluegrass Brunch con Danny Santos y los Bluegrass Vatos al Threadgill’s
North, 6416 North Lamar, Austin; 451-5440
February 21, Saturday, 7 PM: The Sieker Band at the Burnet Jamboree, Burnet
Sunday, February 22, noon-dark: ArtZ Rib House benefit at Scholz Garten, 1607
San Jacinto, Austin; 474-1958
www.scholzgarten.net/
February 22, Sunday, 7:30 PM: Peter Rowan at the Cactus Café, UT Austin campus; $17.00 at the door
February 22, Sunday, Sunday, 11 AM: Bluegrass Brunch with the Double Eagle String Band at
Threadgill’s North, 6416 North Lamar, Austin; 451-5440
February 27, Friday, 6 PM; Piney Grove Ramblers at Doss Cultural Heritage Festival, Doss School,
7005 Northledge Dr, Austin; 414-2365
February 28, Saturday, 7:30 PM: The Sieker Band at ArtZ Rib House, 2330 S. Lamar
Send news of events to the editor at: [email protected]
7
CTBA Artists and Bands
Austin Lounge Lizards Mike Drudge
615-262-6886
www.austinlizards.com
Blacktop Bend
George Rios
512-619-8536
[email protected]
ddbrown004@grandecom.
net
Dear Henry Band
Chris Brewster
512-693-4648
www.dearhenrymusic.com
Eddie Collins
Blazing Bows
512-836-8255
www.eddiecollins.biz
[email protected]
Mary Hattersley
512-873-8925
Grass Onions Band
Bluegrass Vatos
Danny Santos
512-218-4141
Tom Duplissey
512-454-9313
[email protected]
danny@dannysantosmusic.
com
Hard to Make a Living
BuffaloGrass
John Hood
512-376-7767
hardtomakealiving@
sbcglobal.net
Don Inbody
512-295-6977
[email protected]
David & Barbara
Brown
361-985-9902
Manchaca All-Stars
B. Buchanan
512-282-2756
manchacaallstars@
email.com
Out of the Blue
The Sieker Band
Jamie Stubblefield
512-295-5325
[email protected]
Rolf & Beate Sieker
512-733-2857
www.siekerband.com
String Beans
Mike Montgomery
512-517-6753
[email protected]
Teresa Garner Bluegrass Band
Teresa Garner
512-963-4612
[email protected]
The Ledbetters
Spencer Drake
830-660-2533
[email protected]
The Piney Grove
Ramblers
Wayne Brooks
512-345-6609
www.pgramblers.com
The Grazmatics
L. Wayne Ross
512-303-2188
Two High String
Band Geoff Union
512-563-9821
[email protected]
Wayward Pony
Dale Albright
dale-mandolin@austin.
rr.com
www.irishsessions.webhop
. org
www.waywardpony.com
All bands listed are
members of the
CTBA. See the membership form on the
back cover page for
information on band
membership.
Fiddler’s Green Jam on Hiatus
The weekly bluegrass jam at Fiddler’s Green has been temporarily discontinued, but will start
up again on Thursday, April 9. When it does, you might want to check it out. Jams are held in
the ―barn,‖ a converted garage out behind the shop. It’s a nice space with a carpeted floor, a
small stage, climate control, a restrooms
and good lighting. There are Cajun and
celtic jams there, too. And while you’re
there, check out Fiddler’s Green itself. It’s
Austin’s only real acoustic music shop.
You’ll find a good selection of guitars, banjos, mandolins, even a couple of Weissenborns. And they have strings, picks, capos,
and instructional materials. Unlike the big
box stores that cater to rock musicians, this
place is for acoustic pickers like us — no
megablaster amps or drum kits for sale here!
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CTBA Business Members
Overton Bluegrass Festival
City of Overton Sponsoring Bluegrass and Gospel Music
www.overtonbluegrass.com
Don Eaves
[email protected]
903-834-3171
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Sponsored by City of Early
Drawer D
Overton, Texas 75684
Charlotte Parrack
325-646-8531
300 Early Blvd.
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CTBA Area Jams and Events
AUSTIN AREA, CTBA
jam session FM 696 7-10
Beginner/Intermed. Jam 1st. & 3rd Thu. 7-9
PM, Steve Mangold 512-345-6155
FAYETTEVILLE:
Texas Pickin’ Park: Jam 2nd Saturday, each
CTBA 2nd & 4th Sat , ArtZ Ribhouse, begin- month beginning at 6 PM on the Courthouse
ner/Intermediate Jam 4—6 contact: Steve Square. Acoustic instruments only.
Mangold 345-6155
For Info: [email protected]
www.texaspickinpark.com
Jam Session: Sunday at ArtZ Ribhouse, 2-6
PM
GARLAND
Live Bluegrass Show: ArtZ Ribhouse Sunday Bluegrass on the Square: Saturday, March6 pm; 512-442-8283
November between Main and State Sts. At
6th, 7:30 PM to 1 AM
AAAMS Jam 2nd & 4th Wed. Leander/Cedar
Park Fine Arts Academy, 200 Buttercup Rd, GEORGETOWN
Ste. 104, Cedar Park, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, 512- Randy’s Rangers Thursday Jam: Duke’s
401-8863
BBQ Smokehouse, 7-9 PM, 512-869-8076 or
www.sigi.us/RR
AFTM Contradance: 3rd Sat. 3501 Red River
7:30 to 11 pm, $7 453-8936
2nd Sunday Jam, held at 1 pm at the San
Gabriel Park in Georgetown behind the footAFTM Jam Session: 2nd Sun at ArtZ Rib ball stadium. Contact Jon or Sigi 512-869house at 2330 S Lamar, Austin
8076
FIDDLER’S GREEN jam session in the
BARN out back behind the shop every 2nd
and 4th Thursday from 7pm to 11 pm.
Phone: 512-452-3900
www.fiddlersgreenmusicshop.com
BANDERA
4th Friday of each month at Silver Sage Corral– east of Bandera. Starts at 6:30 pm. For
more info call (830)796-3969 (Not on Good
Friday)
THE GROVE
Outside Pick General Store, 15 mi. west of
Temple on Hwy 36, Sat, 6pm until ?
Contact: Moody Anderson, 512-282-1215
2nd Friday each month— The Medina Jam
session will be held at the Masonic Lodge at
6:30 PM (bring covered dish)
MONTGOMERY
1ST SATURDAY Jam in downtown historical
District from 10 AM– 2 PM. For discount
coupons at local KOA contact Dr. Mike
Davis: [email protected]
PEARL
Jam & Stage Show, 1st Sat: Jam starts at
noon, show 4:30 PM Hwy 183, 7 mi South
of Purmela; contact: Ronald Medart 254-865
-6013
SAN ANTONIO
Open Bluegrass Jam Session Tuesdays, 6-8:30
PM, Grady’s BBQ Store No. San Pedro Ave,
at Jackson –Keller (beginner-friendly)
Beginner/Intermediate Bluegrass Jam 2nd
Thursday 7-9 pm at 6418 Ridgehurst, San
Antonio. Hosted by Clifton Bowren 210-602
-5544
[email protected]
SHULENBERG
RV Park community Center
2nd Tuesday of every month, 6:30—9:00 PM
Laretta Baumgarten 979-743-4388
[email protected]
HARWOOD
Stage Show & Jam Session 3rd Sat, 9 mi. E.
WIMBERLEY
of Luling, Hwy 90, 2 to 9 PM
Bluegrass Jam Fri 8-12 pm, Lane’s Country
Ben Buchanan 512-263-7193
Café, Wimberley
HONDO
Hondo Hootenanny, 1 PM Hondo Community
BELLVILLE,
Spring Creek Club Jam/Show Jan. thru Sept Center, 1st Fri each month 830-426-3438
4th Sat; 4pm Jam, 6:30 pm show. Coushatte
Editor’s note: this list of jams
Recreation Ranch 979-865-5250
blue- LEAGUE CITY (BABA)
[email protected]
Plenty of RV camping Jam & Free Bluegrass Show 3rd Sat: Jam 5 hasn’t been verified in a long
PM, Show 6:30 PM Jan- Nov., League City
and good food.
Civic Center, 300 W. Walker St. 281-636- time. Call ahead before check9419
BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION,
ing out an unfamiliar jam, to
Brazos Country Grass Monday Jam, J.
LIBERTY HILL
make sure it’s still active.
Cody’s, 3610 S. College 6-9 PM
4th Sat. Jam Session at 1-6 PM, Hwy 29
www.brazoscountrygrass.com
West, contact Paula at 512-778-5410
CEDAR PARK, Irish sessions Jam, It’s a
MANCHACA
Grind Coffeehouse, once a month. Check out
Open jam every Thursday night from 7-9 PM
website: www.irishsessions/webhop/org
at The Railroad BBQ on FM 1626 in Manchaca
CLEBURNE
Show and Jam: 3rd Fri. Cleburne Civic Cen- McDADE
ter, 1501 W. Henderson (Hwy 67) 7 PM $3 2nd Monday of each Month: McDade Jambowww.NTBBluegrass.com
ree at the McDade VFW Post Hwy 290. 7-10
PM Call: 512-273-2307
ELGIN
2nd Friday of each month: Elgin Jam –Back MEDINA
Forty Chiropractic/Rain Deer Productions-105 2nd Tuesday—each month— all gospel jam at
W. 2nd St. Elgin 7-10 PM
the first Baptist Church—Medina. Starts at 6
PM; for info Linda Barton 830-589-2486
3rd Friday of each Month: Blue Fire-Station
11
Central Texas Bluegrass Association
P.O. Box 9816
Austin, Texas 78766-9816
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